Steps Towards Reengineering Cells For Transplant
One of the challenges in developing autologous stem cell therapies for age-related conditions is that old people have damaged stem cells and damaged stem cell niches. This research demonstrates a technology platform that might eventually encompass all sorts of repair and support for cells to ensure that the age of the donor and recipient can be made irrelevant: "Therapeutic cells, such as those implanted in the body to battle cancer or replenish devastated populations of stem cells, may someday be able to carry their own life-support packets. New research [shows] how transplanted cells can be loaded with minuscule particles, or nanoparticles, which contain substances that help the therapeutic cells survive and flourish. These tiny packets of drugs may provide more effective support for the therapeutic cells, and cause less harm overall, because doctors might be able to achieve therapeutic effects with smaller doses of medicine. ... [During one immune therapy test] researchers found they could load about 100 nanoparticles on each T cell without interfering with the cells' division, or with their ability to migrate through tissue, find targets in the bloodstream, and kill tumor cells. ... Both the T cells and stem cells could keep the nanoparticles sitting on their surface - with dividing cells actually splitting up the cargo - an intriguing finding."